Senators’ GM Pierre Dorion is notoriously stingy with trades in-division, which may have led to this opportunity for the Sharks. San Jose finishes the transaction with $4MM more in cap space, and a few extra draft picks to fill out the cupboards. Giving up Boedker would weaken their on-ice performance if his cap space wasn’t used for something else, but the team is expected to take a long run at some top names in free agency this summer. They do have contracts to work out with Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney and Dylan DeMelo, along with unrestricted free agent Joe Thornton, but should have plenty of space to go after someone like John Tavares or Ilya Kovalchuk to give them some added offensive punch.

That offense was what Hoffman was supposed to bring, something that he’ll now take to Florida instead. The 28-year old winger will move south in the Atlantic Division, and join a relatively young team that already has some outstanding forward talents in players like Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers will add a four-time 20-goal scorer to their group, despite his recent off-ice situations. Because of those troubles between Hoffman and Senators captain Erik Karlsson, Florida has acquired him for an extremely low price. GM Dale Tallon released a statement regarding his newest player:

Mike is a skilled, consistent and hard-working player who has proven himself to be a talented goal scorer in the NHL. His speed, experience and offensive abilities will bolster our top-six group.

Taking a top scoring threat away from a division rival for a handful of picks after the first round is a steal for the Panthers, who are looking to take a run at the playoffs right away. As Chris Johnston of Sportsnet relays, Tallon had spoken with the Senators about Hoffman but thought the asking price was too high. Last night he received a call from the Sharks, and could find a price that worked. The Senators apparently wanted roster players from the Panthers, instead of the draft pick package that the Sharks were after.

The fireworks seem to just be starting in Ottawa, but both San Jose and Florida seem to be in a better position than they started this morning. This deal is a great one for both teams, as long as Hoffman’s off-ice situations are resolved. Draft week has been kicked off with a bang, and there will be plenty of intrigue as we approach Friday’s event.

Tavares wants to play in NYI. We’ve heard the Toronto media try to create a false hope for leafs fans on every Ontario boy for many years, and it never actually happens. There’s no reason to think it’ll change with Tavares

See this makes sense why the Sens’ return was light. They didn’t want to trade Hoffman in-division/conference. The Sens likely asked for a high price to trade Hoffman in division and the Panthers likely balked at it. The Sharks come out great in these trades today. They basically replace what they originally gave up for Hoffman while also clearing up $4m in cap space (Boedkker’s cap hit). I do wonder if the Sharks use this space to chase a FA or hold onto it for Couture’s and Hertl’s new contracts.

^that and more money to retain some of their current players (mainly Couture, who needs a new contract soon, and Hertl and Thornton). I think Thornton will hold out a bit and see what the Sharks do with their cap space before resigning. If they were able to convince Tavares to sign with them, Thornton would probably be fine with taking less for another potential Stanley Cup run.

dorion is starting really give chiarelli a battle for worst gm. He has to give Colorado pick this year. Ottawa looks more and more like the worst team in league next year.maybe he figures since they seem to have only bad luck. Colorado will never win lottery because they owned the pick.